Victims of deadly landslide in Alaska include five members of same family

The Heller family was at home when the rockslide buried their home on Friday; neighbor Otto Florschutz was also killed

The deadly landslide in south-east Alaska early this week killed five family members and their neighbor, a commercial fisher who made a longshot bid for the state’s lone seat in the US House last year, authorities said on Friday.

Timothy Heller, 44, and Beth Heller, 36 – plus their children Mara, 16; Derek, 12; and Kara, 11 – were at home on Monday night when the landslide struck near the island community of Wrangell. Search crews found the bodies of the parents and the oldest child late on Monday or early Tuesday; the younger children remain missing, as does neighbor Otto Florschutz, 65, the Alaska public safety department said in a statement that identified the victims of the disaster.